Kurt Roland Hamrin was born in Stockholm on November 19, 1934.
His youth teams in his homeland were Huvudsta IS, Råsunda IS and AIK (Solna-Stockholm).
In 1951 he joined the AIK first squad. He stayed with the "Gnaget" (Rodent) for five seasons. He played 63 league games and scored 54 goals. In 1954-55 he was top scorer of the Swedish League with 22 goals. The Swedish league was still non-professional so Hamrin continued to work as a Zincographer (printing or engraving on zinc).
Legend has it an Italian miner saw him play and wrote a letter to Juventus president Gianni Agnelli, praising his skills. The fact is Agnelli watched him play in a Swedish international game and decided to sign him.
In 1956 Hamrin joined the Bianconeri. The manager was first Sandro Puppo and then Teobaldo Depetrini. Hamrin scored a brace on his debut (against Lazio) but Juventus had a disappointing season and finished 9th. He played 23 league games and scored 8 goals. Juventus then signed Omar Sivori and Welshman John Charles and decided to let Hamrin go.
The Swede stayed in Serie A and joined Padova. He did well in Veneto playing 30 league games and scoring 20 goals. Padova finished an excellent 3rd in Serie A, under manager Nereo Rocco.
In 1958 Hamrin joined Fiorentina. He would stay nine seasons in Florence and was a great success. He played a total of 362 games and scored 208 goals (150 in A, 15 in Coppa Italia, 16 in Europe and 27 in other cups). In one league game against Atalanta, he scored 5 goals. The Viola won the Coppa Italia twice (1961, 1966), the Cup Winners Cup (1961), the Alps Cup (1961) and the Mitropa Cup (1966). Hamrin was top scorer in the Cup Winners Cup triumph with 6 goals, the Coppa Italia (1964, 1966 with 4 and 5 goals) and in the Mitropa Cup (1962 and 1967 with 8 and 6 goals). His managers in Florence were Fulvio Bernardini, Lajos Czeizler, Luis Carnaglia, Nandor Hidegkuti, Giuseppe Chiappella, Ferruccio Valcareggi. Some in various stints.
In 1967 Hamrin joined Milan. Here he was reunited with manager Nereo Rocco. The Rossoneri won both the Scudetto and the Cup Winners Cup with a Hamrin brace in the 2-0 win against Hamburger SV in the final. Hamrin played 23 league games with 8 goals, 8 in Coppa Italia with 2 goals and 8 in the Cup Winners Cup with 4 goals.
In 1968-69 he stayed at Milan but played less. The Rossoneri, still under Rocco, finished 2nd in Serie A but won the European Cup, defeating Ajax 4-1 at the Bernabeu in Madrid. Hamrin played 13 league games with 1 goal (Juventus), 3 in Coppa Italia with 1 goal and 6 in the European Cup with 1 goal (Manchester United).
In 1969 Hamrin moved south and joined Napoli. In Naples he was coached by Giuseppe Chiappella again but only played 5 league games with 1 goal, 1 game in the Fairs Cup and 5 in other Cups with 2 goals. Napoli finished 6th in Serie A.
The following season he stayed in Naples. The manager was still Chiappella and Hamrin played a little more regularly, 17 league games with 2 goals plus 6 games in Coppa Italia. The Partenopei finished 3rd in Serie A. One of his teammates was a young and future Juventus and Lazio legend, Dino Zoff.
At 36 Hamrin then returned to Sweden for one last season, also due to personal commercial reasons. He joined IFK Stockholm who were in Division Three. He played 10 league games with 5 goals and then retired.
On retiring he had a brief spell as manager of Pro Vercelli in Serie C. One of his players was former Lazio defender Carlo Soldo (1967-69).
At international level he earned 32 caps for Sweden and scored 16 goals. He won a silver medal at the 1958 World Cup. His goal against West Germany is legendary as he went past six defenders before scoring. He was Sweden's top scorer with 4 goals and came 4th in the Ballon d'Or.
Hamrin was a forward who played mainly on the right wing. His nickname in Italy was "Uccellino" (Little Bird) as it was as if he flew on the field. He was light, agile and fast (1.70 for 70 kilos). He was also creative and had great vision. He could dribble and go past defenders with ease but he also scored goals (317 at club level plus 16 for Sweden). He could play with both feet. He is considered one of the all-time European greats.
At Fiorentina especially he is a legend but he also won a Scudetto and a European Cup with Milan. He is still the 9th top goal scorer of Serie A with 190 goals.
After retiring he started an import-export ceramic business between Italy and Sweden. He also worked as a talent scout for Milan in Tuscany until 2008. The last years of his life were spent in Coverciano near Florence, in this period he also helped out at the local club, Settignanese. His strong tie with Italy is also testified by the fact that his five children all have Italian names.
Kurt Hamrin died in Florence on February 4, 2024 at 89 years of age.
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